[PICS/INT] Siwon Interview w/Korean Hurrican April 2010 Issue

Spring is always the most beautiful season of the year, when living creatures awake from their slumber, and the gentle breeze caresses your face. In a spring like this, Choi Siwon’s new drama Oh! My Lady greets the audience, and from the few episodes that have been broadcasted, Siwon’s acting skills have been approved by all. A lot of people have been saying that Choi Siwon is a natural actor. These comments all stem from the looks he possesses since the day he was born, and for the past few years Siwon has been ceaselessly sharpening his acting skills, and hopes that the viewers can see past his looks and recognize his skills in acting. Although his character Sung Minwoo in the drama is someone who does not possess any acting skills, but Siwon’s acting has achieved recognition and confirmation through this drama. Getting this sort of attention in the first time that he’s taking the lead role in a drama naturally makes Siwon very happy, and from a person’s working attitude, it reflects their attitude towards life; Siwon is like that, because as he said, no matter towards work or life, he is a very serious person, and sincerity is one of his creeds in life.Interview

Q: Siwon, who is dubbed as the gentleman, playing the character of a “hypercritical and prideful megastar” that falls in love with an “ahjumma manager”, and at the same time, this is your first try in handling the lead role, will you feel extremely pressured?SW: Since this character is rather different from my actual self, so I was even more intrigued to take up the challenge and try (my hands at it). Although it’s a good thing to play an upright (good) character, I would dislike it if I were to be constrained to the same patterns (of character) all the time. To speak the truth, I’m not really burdened. If I don’t do it well, I’ll just be criticized for it, and as time passes, everyone will also forget about it.

Q: Then that means you’re quite confident in yourself!SW: It’s not like that, because when you’re tangled in the determination that you must do well (in something), it would become very exhausting instead due to the enormous pressure. It’s precisely because of that, that I would only do everything seriously, but I won’t think about the results.

Q: At the beginning of the year, your weight was still 78kg, but was reduced to 70kg one week later. What’s your secret?SW: Secret? It’s just through not eating, and jogging like crazy. Doing aerobic exercises for three hours every day, and a ruthless dieting plan that doesn’t allow me to drink much water finally enabled my body to reach the intended results by the time limit.

Q: Isn’t it very hard for you?SW: It’ll have to be a little ruthless, since this is for the sake of the job. To speak the truth, I don’t really like exercising. However, since being a celebrity requires me to frequently appear in public, so I don’t really have a choice. Besides, there are a lot of people who are looking forward (to seeing me).

Q: This is your first time taking the lead role in a drama, did the other (Super Junior) members show their care for you?SW: Of course, Heechul hyung told me: “you haven’t been acting for a long time, all the feelings are disappearing, get all the sensations (of acting) back fast!”

Q: “Teukigayo” which is formed by Leeteuk, Eunhyuk and Shindong, must have advertised for you on their show too!SW: Yes, our friendship has been great all this time, and I would also do the same for them too! We have a strong uniting force.

Q: This is the first time you’re playing the lead role, and you’re acting with your sunbae Chaerim. How did the both of you get along?SW: Everyone knows that Chaerim noona is a sunbae that can be trusted by everyone. She really takes care of me at the filming site. While I was still worrying whether she was too exhausted, she approached me to ask me about my condition first. Actually before the filming, we didn’t know each other. I’m just one of her fans.

Q: I remember that you acted in the movie Battle of Wits* some years back, along with some star sunbaes which includes Ahn Sung-ki and Andy Lau among others. To you, the meeting with Ahn Sung-ki who is dubbed as the “national actor” really changed your views on your attitude towards life, right?SW: Yes, to me, Ahn sunbae is in the genuine level of an “idol”! Before I started filming for this drama, I told him that I would be acting, and he immediately encouraged me, saying : “Good, good, you’ll have to do this properly. If you work hard, you’ll achieve good results.”

Q: In real life, you’re someone who has a strong determination to win, right? I know that in one of the Star King episodes last year, you had more than 60 clothes pegs on your face because you wanted to challenge the old record.SW: Actually I really hate to fail. When the guests were invited to challenge the record, it’s not really nice if they could better the record. Even so, my body did not relax one bit. You have to give your best in everything you do, and through that way, you won’t be regretting in the future.

Q: Towards Siwon, who does your best in everything you do, what meaning does it carry in terms of love?SW: I’m the type of person who gives my all in love. It’s to the extent that I would ask the CEO of my company “Is it okay if I got married now?” while we’re talking. My boss was shocked, and answered “Yes… Yes… But you’re not really getting married now, are you!?” And I replied “Yes! I don’t have one (a target) now.” (laughs)

Q: Then your ideal relationship would be one where you can sacrifice everything.SW: At the end of our lives, everyone would either go to heaven or hell, but you only live your life once, so I would really love to complete my life happily. I really hope that I could sacrifice my all for love, just like how God sacrificed Himself for every living thing. Wasn’t it mentioned that “love can dispel all evil” in the Bible?

Q: In the drama, what type of girls does Minwoo like?SW: It would be best if the girl is pretty, but as time goes by, he would prefer girls who can have heart-to-heart talks with him, and can communicate with each other. Actually in reality, I would also give the same answer. I still like girls that I can communicate with. And this isn’t just restricted to words, but also in terms of our hearts. My profession has determined that I would always work late nights, and have an irregular life, so I have to pay a lot of attention. At the same time, (the girl) who becomes my other half may also be faced with the possibility of being attacked (by fans?). So if a girl wants to be with me, she’ll have to be someone who really understands me, and if she’s soft on the outside and hard on the inside** with a strong endurance, that would be the best.

Q: Is there a possibility that you would fall for Chaerim’s “ahjumma manager” character that has a kid in real life?SW: In reality, I won’t tell lies, and I don’t like telling lies either, so I will not lie when I say that age really doesn’t matter to me. Even if our age difference is at least 12 years apart, once you love each other, and love starts to blossom, then age is but a number. If you can’t love because of identity, age, or criteria, then there wouldn’t be any heart-warming stories like that of Romeo and Juliet in this world. Regardless of the times, love that surpasses identity or background can be found everywhere. Thus I would of course think that this (falling for older women) is possible.

* Battle of Wits/墨攻 – click here for more information
** Meaning she may look soft, but she has a very strong mentality.